Acer AspireRevo nettop review
The Acer AspireRevo nettop is a new hybrid of an old concept. Thin computing is older than the hills, an idea Sun tried ages ago. Read on to see how the Revo fared in testing…
As if these technical specs were not impressive enough, the AspireRevo is also a good-looking machine. It has a sleek angular design – made, unfortunately, of a thin plastic that would probably not withstand much abuse. Still, the system sits on a stand and has several USB ports (front and back) and just looks like it fits in 2010 rather than a few years ago, when the nettop market first emerged. The AspireRevo comes with its own keyboard and mouse. We were confused initially about how to make these accessories work until Acer told us the USB wireless transmitter is actually housed in the mouse and has to be plugged into the Revo. The keyboard seems chintzy, but we found we could type quite fast on it thanks to the springy keys.
The system is a good match for Linux partly because of price (it costs as much as a netbook) but also because Linux takes advantage of the extras. The HDMI port worked well with a Viewsonic PJD6251 projector, which has an HDMI input. We also connected the Revo to a home stereo system for surround-sound audio. Because the Revo lacks a DVD drive, we loaded up the disk with several Hollywood movies and played them in a home entertainment room. The light, inconspicuous but powerful nettop – running Ubuntu and several movie playback apps – worked well.
In fact, we were hard-pressed to find any complaints about this inexpensive system. The mouse is perhaps too light for serious desktop work. Of course, the system can’t compare to a real desktop rig or workstation, but that is not how Acer intended it to be used. Overall, the system is outfitted with exactly the right mix of components for entertainment, testing, or daily use.
Verdict: 5/5
This exceptional nettop is stylish, fast and trendy – it is a great fit for Linux, and ideal for development work as well as serious gaming and graphics.
John Brandon
This article originally appeared in issue 83 of Linux User & Developer. Click here to read more reviews from the magazine.
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This system (assuming that it’s the 3610) doesn’t have 802.11n. It is only 802.11b/g. It’s been detailed on several sites, mainly shopping sites where users have complained that it’s not 802.11n. I’m pretty sure that ebuyer details it with 802.11b/g
I have read conflicting reports on the Revo 3610(L) on various sites, whether it has WiFi-N, or the old legacy ‘g’, or wired or wireless keyboard/mouse. Only eBuyer seems to sell it anywher enear the £165 price that iboum.com indicated, and sadly their website gives only an ‘abridged’ spec (compared to the us.acer.com site) and doesn’t tell you which version of WiFi or keyboard they sell.
I would be helpful if you could clarify these 2 things. I don’t want the legacy spec for Wifi, as it will pull everying else on the WLAN down to 56Mbps. Also helpful if you can publish your method of installing Ubuntu on it, knowing it has no DVD drive.
@will2
I got one of these from ebuyer and I’m delighted with it. Mine came with no OS, wired keyboard/mouse and wireless-g.
I installed Ubuntu from a 2GB USB stick that I set up with Startup Disk Creator on my laptop – the Revo boots from the stick and presents the usual install options. Once it was up and running on the network I installed MythTV as my Revo is used as a TV set-top box in the living room.